As described in co-pending application Ser. No. 07/172,533, filed Mar. 24, 1988, entitled "Movable Thermal and Radar Vehicular Decoy" by the same inventor and assigned to the same assignee, several new anti-vehicular smart munitions utilize sensors that are either thermal, radar waves of millimeter wavelengths or a combination of both. Heretofore, an easily transportable decoy which could attract or confuse these types of munitions, and thereby increasing the survivability of the armored vehicle to which the decoy is paired, was not available.
The aforementioned co-pending application pertains to a decoy which can mislead both radar and thermal sensors on a smart munition. To achieve this end, the co-pending application decoy has a platform mounted on a trailer. The platform is coated with a metallic layer which, when struck by radar waves, would reflect the same to produce a millimeter wavelength signature. The platform has at least one upraised portion for enhancing the reflection of the radar waves and also to allow the decoy to be used against airborne smart munitions. On selected portions of the platform are mounted thermal panels whose heat outputs can be independently regulated by a control means so that the panels as a whole would generate a contrast heat pattern corresponding to the thermal signature of a chosen armored vehicle. Thus, the co-pending application decoy is able to provide for both thermal and millimeter wavelength radar signatures representative of a particular type of armored vehicle which it is simulated to become. However, in order to provide for the correct signatures, the size of the platform has to be substantial, resulting in the decoy becoming quite bulky. This, in turn, leads to a decoy which, although transportable, is quite difficult to haul, since in most instances, the terrain in which the decoy is to operate is inhospitable for movements.
Therefore, a decoy which can be compacted so as to be less bulky during transportation is required.